Live fowl holder



April 1951 L. F. GARFIELD 2,548,013

LIVE FOWL HOLDER Filed Sept. 24, 1948 INVENTOR.

E. 3 Lewis P. Garf'ie/d /JMMJ Patented Apr. 10, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE The present invention comprises a holder for live fowl, being of particular utility in the application of anti-cannibalism spectacles to chickens. 'The act of cannibalism among fowl, particularly young chickens, is quite a common;

source of loss to poultrymen and, as a means of checking the habit, small spectacles have been devised for application to the bridge of the chickens beak. Such spectacles usually comprise 'a pair of translucent, colored members connected by a bridge piece and adapted to be held in position by a pin inserted through the upper beak of the chicken. In applying such devices it has heretofore been necessary for one person to hold the chicken against struggling while a second person applies the spectacles. The principal object of the present invention is to permit the application of such devices by one person. With the use of a device as herein disclosed one person may apply as many as two hundred spectacles per hour while, according to previous practices, two persons could not apply much more than one hundred spectacles per hour, principally because of the various positions in which the assistant might place the body of the fowl. The present invention comprises means for holding the fowl in a definite position such that the operator may reduce his movements to an absolute minimum and in many cases may achieve such perfection as to have his movements automatic in nature.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described which is relatively small and may be easily transported about the poultry yard or chicken house, and i may be rapidly mounted upon, or dismounted from, any convenient table or tablelike support such as a chicken crate. A convenient time for applying the anti-cannibalism spectacles is when young pullets are transferred from the range to thelaying house. This is usually done when the pullets are about five months old. The pullets are usually transferred in wooden crates built to hold from twenty to thirty chickens. The device of the present invention is adapted to be detachably affixed to the upper surface of a crate in order that the poultryman may attach a spectacle to each chicken as it is lifted from the crate before being released in his yards.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described which is formed of relatively few, sturdy parts assembled in a convenient manner.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily ascertained from in- 2 Claims. (0]. 11997) spection of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, 'while the features of novelty will be more distinctly pointed out in the appended claims. I

In the drawing Fig. l is a plan view of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a vertica1 section taken substantially along line 22 of Fig. 1.

The invention comprises a support preferably made in the form of a box It! having its lower side open in order to permit access to the operating mechanism. The top surface of the box supports a pair of movable jaws l I and I 2' which are pivotally mounted upon a transverse pivot rod 13, the rod being mounted in end bearings I4 conveniently attached to the top of the support. The jaws comprise lower portions having but a slight curvature and upper reentrantly curved portions adapted to meet when the jaws are closed, with the meeting line of the jaws over the pivot rod [3. The jaws are preferably wide plates shaped to embrace the body and wings of a fowl placed therebetween with the breastbone of the fowl extending parallel to the pivot rod I3 and the back of the fowl uppermost. The jaws may be spread sufficiently wide to accommodate the largest fowl, and may firmly embrace the smallest fowl ordinarily encountered when the tips thereof are brought together. The jaws comprise a spaced pair of pivot-embracing extensions I5, one of which lies along one side edge and the other of which is spaced inwardly from the opposite side edge, the spacing being identical so that one mold will produce both jaws, the pair being provided by reversing one jaw so as to face the other.

The jaw ii is provided with a lever 96 extending from its lower surface and jaw I2 is provided with an identical lever extension H, the levers being so shaped as to extend through a slot I8 in the top of the support and cross beneath the pivot IS. A toggle mechanism is secured to the ends of the lovers comprising a toggle link I9 secured to lever I6, an identical toggle link 26 secured to lever Ii, and a vertical operating link 2i pivotally secured to the ends of links I9 and 2B. The operating link 2I is pivotally attached to the horizontal arm 22 of a bell crank mounted upon a bracket 23 secured to an end wall of the support. The opposite arm 2 of the bell crank is pivotally connected to a link 25 which is pivotally fastened to the lower end of a lever 2d. The lever 26 is pivotally mounted upon a horizontal bolt 27 mounted in a bracket 28 depending from the top of the support. The lever 26 extends through a slot 33 extending lengthwise through a portion of the top and terminates in a handle 3!. A serrated member 32 is mounted on top of the support adjacent the slot 39, the teeth thereof being engageable by a dog 33 pivotally mounted upon the lever. A releasing mechanism is associated with the dog, comprising a push rod 34 pivotally connected to the do and extending upward through the handle 3! and terminating in an exposed button 35, an intermediate portion of the push rod being engaged by a coiled spring 36 retained in the handle and compressed between a portion of the handle and the button 35 so that the spring 36 always tends to urge the dog into engagement with the teeth of the serrated member. The jaws are urged apart by a spring 38 coiled about the central portion of the pivot rod 13 and having opposed ends pressing outwardly and downwardly across the inner surfaces of the jaws. When the handle 3| is gripped, the thumb may depress the button 35 to raise the dog 33. so that the lever may be moved toward the left. In moving the lever toward the right, the operating mechanism is so shifted as to cause the jaws to close and the spring will allow the dog to ride over the teeth and cause it to engage a tooth at the point where the lever is stopped. It is to be noted that the lever moves toward and away from the jaws in a direction parailel to the direction of movement of the jaws so as to be most convenient to an Operator standing at either side of the support.

Some operators prefer to lift the fowl from the crate with both hands engaged in pressing the wings against the body, in which case one side of the fowl may be pressed against one of the jaws to release a hand for operation of the manual lever. Other operators prefer to hold the wings with one hand and the feet with the other. When held in this fashion the feet may be released while the other hand holds the wings and body against one of the jaws or between the aws.

With the device as so far described a fowl will be held in proper position for application of anticannibalism spectacles thereto. Some operators, however, prefer to have the feet held in an elevated position, forcing the head down against the support so as to further restrict movement of the chicken. For this reason a leg support is detachably mounted adjacent one end of the pivot rod I3. 66 having a foot 4! thereon in which a pair of slots 42 are provided, the same being adapted to embrace the stems of a pair of screws 43 extending from the top of the support so that the relative position of the leg support and jaws may be adjusted or the leg support may be removed entirely. The standard so terminates in a U-shaped member having spaced, vertically extending arms 44 and a horizontal bottom 45 rigidly secured to the top of the standard. The arms 44 are preferably located at each side of the meeting line of the jaws and the bottom portion 45 is preferably elevated above the pivot rod to a point slightly below the meeting point of the jaws. The legs of the fowl, when placed between the arms 44, are secured against any movement and the head of the fowl is forced down toward the support.

In order to provide means for demountably attaching the support to a table or crate the lower edge of the box is preferably provided with a plurality of downwardly directed, sharp projec- The leg support comprises a standard tions 5!] which may be driven into a wooden supporting surface by pressing downwardly on the box. The device is thus held against slippage but may be readily lifted free and transported from one position of use to another.

The top of the support is preferably provided with a plurality of slots 5! placed in various localities around the edge thereof. These slots extend parallel to the edges of the box and are adapted to receive handle clips 52 affixed to demountable containers 53. Preferably two such containers are provided, one for spectacles and the other for the attaching pins. The slots are provided in various locations so that the containers may be moved about to the positions most suitable to the individual operator.

While I have herein described the device as being used for applying spectacles to fowl, it is to be appreciated that the device may be used for performing other operations upon fowl, or the jaws thereof may be modified to provide body embracing means suitable for animals. I have herein. illustrated a preferred formpf the invention, but it is, to be appreciated that the various elements thereof may be modified in detailandarrangement without departing from the spirit .of the invention. All such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims are considered to be a part of the invention. I

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising a portable, boxlike support, a pair of broad, curved jaws capable of embracing a fowl therebetween, pivot means supporting said jaws on said support, a lever extension from each of said jaws, said lever extensions being crossed beneath said pivot means and extending into said support, a pair of toggle links, one of said toggle links being pivotally connected to one of said lever'extensions for opening and closing said jaws and the other of said toggle links being pivotally connected to the other of said lever extensions, and operating means comprising a connecting link pivotally connected to said toggle links, a manual lever pivotally mounted on said support and extending thereinto, a serrated member adjacent said manual lever, a dog pivotally mounted on said manual lever and engageable with said serrated member, a spring urging said dog into engagement with said serrated member, manual releasing means associated with said manual lever for releasing said dog, and movement translating means within said support and interconnecting said manual lever and said connecting link.

2. A device of the class described comprising a portable, boxlike support, a pair of pivoted jaws projecting upwardly from the top of said support, said jaws comprising broad, curved plates adapted to embrace a fowl therebetween, a pivot mounting said jaws on said support, jaw extensions extending through the top of said support, a pivoted lever projecting upwardly through the top of said support alongside of said jaws, means within said support connecting said lever to said jaw extensions for translating pivotal movement thereof into opening and closing movement of said jaws, spring means urging said jaws apart, and lever arresting means for holding said jaws in various positions determined by the position of said lever.

LEWIS F. GARFIELD.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 554,714 Murphy Feb, 18, 1896 557,453 Thompson Mar. 31, 1896 644,313 Anderson Feb. 27, 1900 Number Number Name Date Hill Oct. 2, 1917 Lindemuth June 14, 1921 Merrifield July 7, 1931 Peterson Apr. 12, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Apr. 6, 1916 

